Fruit drier



April 12, 1927. ,624,39

J. T. THOMASEN 4FRUIT DRIER i Filed Oct. 26, 1926 `2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gva/vanto@ attomwq Patented 1,2, 1,927.

Jomz T TnoAsEN, or cAnLToN, OREGON.

FRUIT imma.

Application filed-October 26, 1926. Serial 110,144,802.

My invention relates to fruit driers, especially to that type comprislng elongated parallel dryingV chambers-also known as tunnels-located on either side of, a passageway in which the air heating and circulating devices are located. o.

The outlet end of Amy fruit drier is provided with doors through which' the fruit being dried may be inspected, and removed when suiiiciently dried and these doors, for

- convenience are usua'lly located at that rend of the drier towards which the heated air is drivenin its passage through the drying chambers.

When one of said doors 1s opened, the hot air following the path of least resistance rushes out and is wasted, which increases the fuel lcos't and lowers the efiiclency ofx the fruit drier.

Also, since the minimum temperature within the fruit drier, when used, for ex-y ample, for drying prunes', is approximately 165 degrees Fahrenheit, the work of the attendant who opens the door and enters the drying chamber vis very arduous.

The object of lmy invention is so to improve these'fruit driers that but little of the hot circulating air will escape to the outside when the doors of the fruit drier are opened, lin that way effecting 'a considerable saving in fuel cost, increasing the eiiiciency ot my fruit drier, and rendering the work of the attendant easier. i

` A particular object of my invention is to 1 provide doors for controlling the openings through which the intermediate passage-way communicate with the drying chambers, so

that when an outside door of 'the fruit drier is to be opened, the door controlling the adi jacent one of said vopenings may be closed,

and thus the hot circulated vair may be cut off from the dryingvchamber from which the dried fruit is'to bel removed, and circulated only through the other drying chamber.A7

A further object of my invention is -tA-o provide 'deflectorwalls at` the outlet end of my fruit drier, and to varrangethe, said interior doors so as to cooperate therewith in defiecting :the hot air currents into the drying chamber.

f Hence, in case an outside door of a drying chamber is opened without the interior door from the intermediate passageway being closed, the air will not tend to rush outside, following the line of least resistance, and be wasted; and at the same time will not strike the attendant, who enters, in the face, to his great discomfort. l Further, said arrange' ment of the interior doors and deector walls v -facilitates the" circulation of the hot'air from the? interinediate"passage-way through the drying chambers.

The descriixerLarra'nge-l ment prevents the undue waste of the heated air and enables the fruit drier to at its highest efficiency.

Also so to'arrange and adapt the said doors controlling the said communicating openings that the pressure of the air currents will tend to swing `to one side a hinged section'of the doors, respectively, when f positioned for' opening, and to straighten out said hinged sectionagain when the doors are positioned for closing. y A further object of my'invention is to provide means for operating the said doors the outside; thus eliminating the necessity be operated from of an attendant entering the drying cham- A* ber to open and close said doors; a'lso so to arrange the means for circulating the heated air thru the. drying chambers lthat either thereof may be used alone ifdesirable orA necessary.

I attain my said objects by providing a fruit drier comprising 'a housing divided by. partitions into parallel drying chambers separated by an intermediate passage-way -m which the heat generating and .air circulting means are located in the communicating :j

openings between such intermediate passageway and said Crying chamber located atl that end of, the drier towards which the circu-` lated. heated air is directed, I provide deflector wal-ls converging at their interiorends to the medial line of said intermediate pas sage-way and the outer ends of vsaid deflector walls terminating into diverging return bends respectively. p

In each 'of the communicating openings betweeny the intermedia-te passage-way and the drying chambers, respectively, I provide a door pivoted on a vertical axis and .adapted in part to be opened and closed by the force of the air circulated in the drier and to resist opening by such force when the door is placed in its closed osition. VI also preferably provide means or' operating the door from the exterior of the housing.

The details of construction and operation of said features of my invention and others incidental thereto are hereinafter fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig'. 1 shows a diagramma-tic plan view of the interior of my fruit drier illustratingv fruit drier taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

thus showin the heating device located in the interine iate passage-way and the drying chambers located on both sides of the latter, trucks carrying grades of fruit to be dried being shown as located in drying chambers;

Fig. 3 shows a fragmentary diagrammatic plan similar to thev portion ot' my drier as shown i'n Fig. 1 with the left hand door controlling the opening through which the intermediate passage-way communicates with the left hand drying chamber arranged in its closed position/and the outer door of the housing of the drying chamber at the left hand side being open; this figure further illustrates that by the closing of the door referred to, the heated circulated air is detlected into the right hand drying chamber;

Fig. 4 shows a fragmentary plan or top View of the discharge or outlet end of my fruit drier and illustrates means for operating doors operating from the exterior of the housing, the doors which control the openings connectin its intermediate passage-way with the drying chambers respectively; the said doors and the deiiector walls with which they cooperate being shown in dotted outline, and the doors positioned as shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows a fragmentary longitudinal section taken on the line 5 of Fig. l thus on th right hand side of the partition d; the

yparts are broken away to illustrate details of construction; and

-Fig 6 shows a fragmentary perspective of the outlet end of my fruit drier with the roof removed and illustrates more clearly the construction of the doors and serves further toillustrate the arrangement of the deflective walls and of the doors cooperating therewith both referred to.

Referring vnow to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, my fruit drier comprises an elongated housing prdvided with outside'walls a and b, inner longitudinal walls c and d which form with the walls a and Z) the vfruit drying tunnels or chambers e and f. The doors g and g which open outward are provided at each end of the drying chamber e and similar doors L and h are provided for the drying chamber f. End walls i and j close the space between the doors g and and g and 71, at the respective ends of the drier.

openings between the hot air chamber 8 and the drying chambers e and f are pivoted at approximately their longitudinal centers on upright posts t and u and are each provided with a curved deflector plate 2 and 2a and a hinged section- 3 and 3, respectively.

Companion outwardlydiverging parabolic Adeilector Walls 4 and 5 are so arranged at the end of the hot air chamber s-as to ,divide the hot air forced from the hot air chamber by the fans into two currents, one `.going into each drying chamber. Outstanding flanges 6 and 7 areA iixed to the inner sides of the delector walls 4 and 5` vso as to form an abutment for the -doors p and r when rotated into a closed position as shown in Fig. 3.

The posts t and u upon which the doors p and 1' are pivoted are provided on their upper extremities which extend through the roof of the' drying chamber with cross members' 10 and 11 which are operable from the outside by ropes 12 and 13l connected thereto as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

. The mode of operation of these doors and deflectors is best explained by describing the method of Idrying the fruit from the time it enters the drier at one end until it is taken out dried, at the other end.

The arrows indicate the paths taken by the air under various conditions determined by the ydeflectors and the positions of the doors p and rf. i

The trucks loaded with fruit are run in at the receiving end and the drying chambers are filled with trucks to a point at the outlet end as shown in Fig. 1 just before l the lateral openings into the lhot air chamber s in which the doors p and rare located, and to a point in the receiving end just past the lateral openings 16 and 17 into the flue chamber 18, in which special doors are also provided but not shown, as they do not constitute a part of my present in? vention.

rEhe heat is then turned on and the fan started. Adjustable dampers. 14 and 15 are provided in the due chamber 18 for supplying fresh air as needed from the outside. The outside doors g and lz. and g and h havel been closed and the doors p and r are open, in theposition 'as shown in Fig. l. The a1r bemg drawn over the Hue pipes rac 1e when the doors are in this position so as not and is deflected by the curved deflector p and. 1, and the deilectorf, partitions mtovtwo parallel drying chambers said door part o dries .thus tightly closing 'n is heated and is-forced against the curved deector walls 4 and-aand deflected into the drying chambers e and f toward the receiving end ofthe drying chambers.

The doors p and vnarrd especially the devHector lates 2 and 2 serve to deflect that fp the hot -air not coming in contact with the deilector walls 4 and 5. The hinged sections 3 and 3* are adapted to swing outward from the hot air chamber to interfere with the movement of the airl Thus, at this point in the operation, the

air is deflected towardthe receiving end.

After the air leaves the hot air chamber,

walls, the doors plates 2 and 2", the latter also preventing the hinged sections 3 and 3*` from being blown bythe current of air into a -position so as to vform a longitudinal extension of the said door, which would tend to obstruct the passage of the air as it is deflected into the drying chambers where it passes over the fruit, drying it, and through the drying chambers to the openings 16 and 17 where it is drawn into the hot air chamber again.

Naturally,

the fastest and is ready to be taken out first. lVhen the prunes are ready to take out, which will be known to those skilled in the art, one drying chamber is opened at a time, but first, the door p for instance, isclosed from the outside by the ropes 12, andas the current will swing the hinged section 3 so asv to form a longitudinal extension of the door p and the said section will then abut against the wall c, the door p closin at the same time against the outstanding ange '6, the lateral opening to e as shown in Fig. 3.

the drying chamber been closed and the hot The door p having air shut oil' from the air is deflected bythe curved deflector wall 5 into the drying chamber f, and the chamber e can be opened withoutany loss of hot air to the outside, or discomfort to the attendant who may now enter and remove the trucks of dried fruit, and replace .those re-A moved with fresh fruit at the receiving end, moving the remaining trucks forward along the tunnel to the position occupied by those removed, after which the doors g and g will be closed, the door p opened by rotating clockwise, and the hot air will again be turned into the said chamber.

The dried fruit may be removed from and replaced in the Iother dryingchamber' in a -similar manner, the door r beingfirst closed i from the outside and the doors hand It then opened. A

In case the attendant wishes to open a drying chamber door without closing the intethe fruit at the outlet end'.

is rotated anti-clockwise, the air drying chamber e, the,

rior door 'the deflector wall and arrangement of the interior door tends to deflect the h'ot airinto the drying chamber and away from the outside door, then enabling him to do so with only a negligible loss of hot air to the outside, and also no discomfort to himself.

The clutches 20 and 21 `on the respective shafts of the fans l and Z are provlded so that if for any reason it is desirable to use only one drying chamber the hot air can be CFL completelyut off from that drying chamber i for the time and thus effect a saving in fuel and power.

I claim:

1. In a fruit drier a housing divided by the interior ends of saidV ssi deflector-walls converging to the medial line of said'intermediate assageway,'heat generating means locate in said intermediate passageway, independently operable means or circulating the heated air thru each of said drying chamber individually and 'doors controlling the communication of ie' intermediate passageway with the drying chamb ers respectively.`

2. In s fruit drier a housing divided by.

partitions intotwo parallel drying chambers separated by an intermediate passageway,

outwardly curved deflectr-walls located 1nsaid intermediate passageway in the, outlet end of the drler,

the interior ends of said deflector-walls converging to the medial line of said intermediate passageway erating means located in `passageway, independently operable means he'at gensaid intermediate Y for circulating the heated air thru each of said drying chambers individually and the ends ofsaid partitions adjacent` said outlet end and the interior ends of said deiiectorwalls being arranged to constitute lateral outlets from saidintermediate passageway, and a door pivoted on a vertical axis in each of said lateral outlets. Y f

3. In aL fruit! drier a housing divided by partitions into two parallel separated by anv intermediate passageway,

heat-generating and air clrculating means located in said intermediate passageway,

outwardly curved deflectorewalls located in said intermediate passageway in the outlet end of the drier, the interior ends of said drying chambers l llO deflector-walls converging tothe medial line w of said intermediate passageway, the ends of Said partitions adjacent said outlet` end and the interior ends of said delector-walls being arranged to constitute lateral outlets from said intermediate passageway, and a door pivoted on a vertical axis in each of said lateral outlets.

v4. In a fruit drier a housing divided by deflector-walls converging to the medial line of' said intermediate passageway, the outer ends of said deflector walls terminating in diverging return bends, respectively, the ends ot said partitions adjacent said outlet end and the interior ends oisaid deiectorwalls being arranged to constitute lateral outlets from said intermediate passageway, and a door pivoted on a vertical axis in each of said lateral outletsn 5. ln a fruit drier a housing divided by partitions into two parallel drying chambers separated by an intermediate passageway, heat generating and air circulating means located in said intermediate passageway, outwardly curved deteCtOr-walls located in said intermediate passageway in the outlet end ot the drier, the interior ends ot said deflector-walls converging to the medial line ot' said intermediate passageway, the ends of said partitions adjacent said outlet end and the interior ends of said delector-walls being arranged to constitute lateral outlets from said intermediate passageway, a door pivoted on a Vertical axis in each of said lateral outlets, and each door being provided with a hinged section adapted to be automatically swungito one side of the plane of the door, in the open position of the door, by the force of the air circulated in the drier, and to retist similar movement in the closed position a, ot the door.

6. In a fruit drier a housing divided by partitlons into two parallel drying chambers Separated by an intermediate passageway, heat generating and airicirculating means located in said intermediate passageway, outwardly curved deflector-walls located in said intermediate passageway in the outlet end of the drier, the interior ends of said deflectorwalls converging to the medial line ot' said intermediate passageway, the ends of said partitions adjacent said outlet end and the interior ends of said defiector-walls being arranged to constitute lateral outlets from said intermediate passageway, a door pivoted on a Vertical axis in each of said lateral outlets, each door being provided with a hinged section adapted to be automatically swung to one side of the plane of the door, in the resaca@ open positionof the door, by the force of the air circulated in the drier, and to resist similar movement in the 'closed position of the door, and each door being further pro- -ot said intermediate passageway, the outer ends of said dedector walls terminating in diverging return bends, respectively, the ends ot said partitions' adjacent said outlet end and tbe interior ends of said' delector-walls being arranged to constitute lateral outlets 'from said intermediate passageway, a door pivoted on a Vertical axis in each of said iateral outlets, each door being provided'with a hinged section adapted to be automatically swung to one side of thel plane of the door, in the open position of the door, by the force of the air circulated in the drier, and to resist similar movement in the closed position of the door, and each door being further provided with a lateral supplemental deflector adjacent to said hinged section.

8. ln a fruit drier a housing divided by partitions into two parallel drying chambers separated by an intermediate passageway, heat generating and air circulating means located in said intermediate passageway, outwardly `curved deflector-walls located in said intermediate passageway in the outlet end of the drier, theinterior ends of said deflector walls converging to the medial Y line of said intermediate passageway, the ends of said partitions adjacent said outlet end and the interior ends of said deflectorwalls being arranged to constitute lateral ont-lets from said intermediate passageway, a door pivoted on a vertical axis in each of said lateral outlets, each door being provided with a hinged section adapted to be automatically swung to one side of the plane of the door, in the open position of the door,

by the force of the air circulated in the drier,

and to resist similar movement in the closed position of the door, and means for operating the door from the exterior of the housing.' 

